System and method for tracking computer viruses

Abstract

A method for collecting and distributing data on computer viruses identified on a plurality of computers during virus scanning includes receiving virus scan results from the plurality of computers and collecting and storing the virus scan results in a database. The results include the type of virus identified. The method further includes aggregating at scheduled intervals the virus scan results over a specified time period at a publisher server to create a virus database and replicating the virus database to a subscriber server. A virus report is created from the virus database upon receiving a request from a user computer at the subscriber server and sent to the user computer.

1. A method for collecting and distributing data on computer viruses identified on a plurality of computers during virus scanning, the method comprising:
 receiving virus scan results from said plurality of computers, said results including the type of virus identified; 
 collecting and storing at least temporarily said virus scan results in a database; 
 aggregating at scheduled intervals said virus scan results over a specified time period at a publisher server to create a virus database; 
 replicating said virus database to a subscriber server; and 
 creating a virus report from said virus database upon receiving a request from a user computer at the subscriber server and sending the virus report to the user computer; 
 wherein the virus report includes a geographical map. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1  wherein the virus report is a virus map. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2  wherein the virus map is an interactive map. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 2  wherein the virus report further includes a table identifying the number of files scanned and the number of files infected. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 2  wherein the virus report further includes a table identifying the number of computers scanned and the number of computers infected. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1  further comprising scanning said plurality of computers from an anti-virus web server. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1  further comprising comparing a last update date and time of the virus database to a previous update date and time and updating the virus report only if the last update date and time are different than the previous update date and time. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7  further comprising invalidating data layers of said virus report when said virus report database is modified. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1  wherein collecting and storing said virus scan results comprises receiving said virus scan results in an insert only format. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1  wherein replicating said virus database to a subscriber server comprises replicating said virus database to a plurality of subscriber servers. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1  wherein replicating said virus database to a subscriber server comprises reading the data at a subscriber server. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 1  wherein the scheduled interval is less than one hour. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 12  wherein the scheduled interval is less than thirty minutes. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 1  wherein receiving a request and sending the virus report comprises receiving a request and sending the virus report over the Internet. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 1  wherein said virus scan results include a geographic location of the computer scanned. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 15  wherein said receiving virus scan results comprises receiving virus scan results from worldwide geographic locations. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 16  wherein aggregating virus scan results comprises aggregating virus scan results by geographic location. 
     
     
       18. A computer program product for collecting and distributing data on computer viruses identified on a plurality of computers during virus scanning, the product comprising:
 computer code that receives virus scan results from said plurality of computers, said results including the type of virus identified; 
 computer code that collects and stores at least temporarily said virus scan results in a database; 
 computer code that aggregates at scheduled intervals said virus scan results over a specified time period at a publisher server to create a virus database; 
 computer code that replicates said virus database to a subscriber server; 
 computer code that creates a virus report from said virus database upon receiving a request from a user at the subscriber server and sending the virus report to the user computer; and 
 a computer readable medium that stores said computer codes; 
 wherein the virus report includes a geographical map. 
 
     
     
       19. The computer product of  claim 18  wherein the computer readable medium is selected from the group consisting of CD-ROM, floppy disk, tape, flash memory, system memory, hard drive, and a data signal embodied in a carrier wave. 
     
     
       20. The computer product of  claim 18  wherein said virus scan results includes a geographic location of the computer scanned. 
     
     
       21. The computer product of  claim 20  further comprising code that aggregates said virus scan results for a geographic location. 
     
     
       22. A system for collecting and distributing data on computer viruses identified on a plurality of computers during virus scanning, the system comprising:
 a data collection server operable to communicate with said plurality of computers and collect virus scan results; 
 a database configured for storing at least temporarily said virus scan results; 
 a publisher server configured to aggregate at scheduled intervals said virus scan results over a specified time period to create a virus database and replicate said virus database; and 
 a subscriber server operable to receive said replicated virus database from the publisher server and create a virus report upon receiving a request from a user at the subscriber server; 
 wherein the virus report includes a geographical map. 
 
     
     
       23. The system of  claim 22  wherein the subscriber server comprises a plurality of subscriber servers. 
     
     
       24. The system of  claim 22  wherein the subscriber server and the data collection server are in communication with user computers via the Internet. 
     
     
       25. The system of  claim 22  wherein said virus report is an interactive map. 
     
     
       26. A computer-implemented method, the method comprising:
 collecting a plurality of virus scan results; 
 aggregating said virus scan results to create a virus database; and 
 creating a virus report from said virus database; 
 wherein the virus report includes a geographical map. 
 
     
     
       27. The method of  claim 26  wherein the geographical map includes a view by location option. 
     
     
       28. The method of  claim 26  wherein the geographical map includes a view by virus name option. 
     
     
       29. The method of  claim 28  wherein the virus name option includes a drop down menu including virus names. 
     
     
       30. The method of  claim 26  wherein the geographical map includes a track infected files option. 
     
     
       31. The method of  claim 26  wherein the geographical map includes a track infected computers option. 
     
     
       32. The method of  claim 26  wherein the geographical map includes an option for identifying statistics for a specific geographical area. 
     
     
       33. The method of  claim 26  wherein the geographical map includes a legend that identifies different colors associated with the number of infections found in a specific geographical area.